Caltrans has broken ground on the first in a series of I-5 improvement projects designed to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety from the Orange County Line to I-605.

A ground breaking ceremony featuring county, city, and Caltrans officials took place Wednesday morning for the Carmenita Road Interchange Improvement Project.

CalTrans plans to replace the existing two-lane steel overpass with a ten-lane concrete structure nearly five times its current size. The updated design will include a new carpool lane and general purpose lane in each direction from Alondra Boulevard to Shoemaker Avenue, according to Caltrans spokeswoman Maria Raptis.

The $380 million, 1.2 mile project is financed by federal, state and local funding, which includes $15 million from the state’s 2006 Proposition 1B and $288.7 million programmed through Metro, according to Caltrans. Raptis said the project has been in the works for 10 plus years.

The total cost of all six project is estimated at $1.24 billion.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2011. By 2013, all six projects will be under construction, Raptis said.